Big Pharma King Pfizer, City Crack Down On Painkiller Marketing
By Gwendolyn Purdom in News on Jul 6, 2016 7:30PM
Last year 84 people died of prescription opioid painkiller overdoses in Chicago. The powerful drugs can be highly addictive, even when used as directed. In light of those depressing stats, the city announced a new partnership with pharmaceutical overlord Pfizer Wednesday that will aim to keep any painkiller marketing from the company transparent about the drugs' dangers. New guidelines listed in a Mayor's Office press release included Pfizer agreeing to fully disclose addiction risks, to disclose the lack of long-term studies on these types of drugs, to maintain a non-marketing website and to potentially fund education programs about opioid abuse.
The agreement comes two years after the city filed a lawsuit against five pharmaceutical manufacturers (conveniently Pfizer wasn't one of them) for misrepresenting the benefits and hiding the problems associated with opioids. The suit is ongoing. The Mayor's statement said:
"The use of these drugs has led to a dramatic rise in drug addiction, overdose and diversion in communities across the nation, including in Chicago. Pfizer’s cooperation is proof that companies can act responsibly. We will continue our fight to force other companies to end their irresponsible practices and be held accountable for their deceptive actions that cause serious damage to individuals, families and neighborhoods and has helped fuel the heroin epidemic in Chicago."
The company also agreed to monitor any third-party marketing materials related to the drugs and make sure they're fair and accurate, too—probably a good thing, as, according to the CDC, the sale of opioids quadrupled between 1999 and 2010, a spike Chicago attributes to pharmaceutical companies "knowingly and aggressively market[ing] these drugs as rarely addictive, while touting benefits that lacked scientific support."